Latest revision as of 17:44, 19 June 2007

Walt Crawford publishes a special Annual Conference edition of his notable Cites & Insights with a ton of discussion on 'doing' conference and ALA as an organization. It is an important read and available in .pdf for your plane reading pleasure at http://citesandinsights.info/civ7i7.pdf .

Contents

Before Conference

Adapted from the New Members Round Table (NMRT) "Conference Tips for ALA Annual" and the Midwinter wiki

Check preview pages in June edition of American Libraries. Mark programs and meetings of interest. Use ALA Handbook of Organizations for information about individual units and committees.

To make the most efficient use of your time, use and consult the ALA Event Planner (the planner is only available to fully registered attendees) and begin mapping out your conference strategy. Also, consult the Hotel Map, which gives the basic layout of the area and buildings covered by the conference.

Ask friends and colleagues what they are involved in and what they enjoy. Try to attend programs, meetings or discussion groups with them during the conference. Suggest that they introduce you to people.

Plan for follow-up. Many libraries ask employees to report back on their meeting experiences. It is easier to synthesize needed information if you consider these questions before the conference.

Cooperate with co-workers. If multiple people from your library are attending, talk with them about attending different sessions and meeting to discuss your experiences afterwards. Stay focused.

Pack comfortable shoes. Pack light clothing that is comfortable but still professional. Pack snacks such as granola or power bars, apples and a few small bottles of water (if you do not have space buy some snacks when you arrive). Bring business cards.

Washington, D.C. is *hot* in the summer ... but there will be air conditioning inside; pack layers.

At Conference

Don’t feel overwhelmed with the program guide at registration. When you have a free moment (hopefully your first night at the meeting), review the guide and revise your original schedule to fit the time and place of programs and meetings. Don’t schedule time too tightly. Allow enough time to go from one meeting to another. Schedule time for relaxing and sightseeing.

Each day bring your revised schedule or tear out the program pages for that day as a reminder of meeting times and places.

It's easier to remember all of the interesting ideas you hear and people you meet if you make a note soon after -- try taking five minutes to "brain dump" the highlights of a meeting into your notebook before you go on to something new.

Meetings and discussion groups are at many different hotels in the city. The program guide provides maps which can help you gauge the distances between meetings. Don’t worry if you arrive a little late or if you need to leave early. Attendees regularly come and go from meetings and discussion groups.

If you want to get involved, attend committee meetings and introduce yourself to the chairperson.

SATELLITE REGISTRATION: ALA will have three satellite registration areas for pre-registered attendees to pick up their credentials prior to the convention center - you must have the badge you received in the mail to use Satellite Registration (which is really just check-in). If you need to pick up your badge, make changes to your badge, or buy tickets to events, you cannot use Satellite Registration and must go to the Registration in the Convention Center. Onsite registrants must go to the Washington Convention Center to register. Satellite registration will be located at the Washington Hilton, Marriott Crystal City and Fairmont Hotel on Thursday, June 21 & Friday, June 22. Hours are 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

At the exhibits

Allocate plenty of time for the exhibits. Don’t attempt to see all the exhibits in one day. Make several short trips. Use the program guide to select and find exhibitors.

But also, allow for the seredipity of coming across a new vendor ... who just might have a product or service useful to your library.

Don’t pick up everything you see in the exhibits hall. Ask exhibitors to send you information after the conference. Take advantage of the "expocard" you get at registration--just have the exhibitor scan it! Or, if you have business cards, use them. Or, some people bring self-addressed labels.

Check your expocard! An error on your expocard can happen -- especially if you've had a change of address or employer. It's very frustrating to discover this on the last day of a conference, especially if you've requested important info.

For materials you do pick up, make use of the on-site postal centers to ship materials back home or use bag check services. You will have a much easier time if you aren’t trying to carry everything. There is a coat and bag check located in the Convention Center, West Registration Lobby, beginning Friday, June 22 through Monday, June 26, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Tuesday, June 27, from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. The cost is $2.00 per person per day (not per item) to check.

Attend the exhibits early in the conference before vendor giveaways run low.

Try and find a map of the exhibit floor with exhibitors, and then maximize your time on the floor by deciding ahead of time which exhibitors you want to visit and how much time you have to spend. You can leave a business card at the booth to try and schedule an appointment.

Other Conference Tips

Bring business cards with you. If you are a library school student, you may want to have business cards printed. On-line printers, such as VistaPrint, provide free business cards.(O.K., not entirely free - you have to pay $5.25 for shipping. And no one will think less of you if you have their ad on the back of your card. In fact, people will think of you as frugal and inventive. You can find other on-line printers by typing "free business cards" into Google.)The Midwinter Meeting can be an excellent opportunity to network, and you can distribute the business cards on the Exhibit/Trade Show Floor.

Wear your badge to meetings and social events, but not on the street. This "brands" you as a visitor and a possible target, and also gives strangers and con artists your full name!.

Attend vendor luncheons and receptions, talk to people in meetings, on the shuttle buses and at other events.

Avoid listening to an MP3 player or reading books when you could be striking up a conversation with those around you.

After the Conference

Keep Connections. Follow up with colleagues or presenters that you met. Getting to know new colleagues and peers is one of the most rewarding components of attendance.

Apply Your Experiences. Even if you are not required to report on your time at the conference, you will retain new information and ideas better if you discuss them with co-workers. Share your notes or experiment with new ideas that learned about at conference.